Part three of a miniseries that answers the questions, “What is the Gospel and how are we to respond?” In this talk, Pastor Clint addresses the relationship between faith and deeds, making the case that we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone.

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

The Bible is pretty clear about the nature of our salvation. Paul explains it in several places throughout the New Testament letters, and condenses it to one sentence in the following two verses:

»Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

»Romans 3:28
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

This seems simple enough to understand – there is nothing that we can do to merit or earn our salvation. We are saved by the gift of faith through the gift of God’s grace.

Yeah, until James throws a monkey wrench into the gears.

»James 2:24b
A person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Woah! What happened here? Well, contrary to secular scholarship, Paul and James are not standing toe-to-toe fighting each other over the Gospel. They are standing back-to-back fighting together to defend the Gospel against two different enemies. Paul is challenging the self-righteous, saying that by no means can they earn their salvation, and that we are saved apart from any works of righteousness. James is challenging the libertines, who consider God’s grace a ticket for living according to their own selfish inclinations.

It is important to read fully the context for each of these verses. The doctrine that one can be saved by making Jesus his savior, but not his Lord, is a fallacy. James attacks this idea when he writes in verse 19, “you believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” In other words, intellectual consignment does not make one saved – only believing with the heart in the identity of Christ and confessing that He is Lord does. This is Biblical faith. What’s more, we have been made the temple of God, and we are sanctified by the blood of Christ. When someone is genuinely converted, his heart is renewed – he is born again. This makes it impossible for the believer to buddy-up with his sin. Instead, he will oppose it, carrying on a life-long process of becoming Christ.

>> See Related: Faith the Works (Pt 2)
>> See Related: Faith the Works (Pt 1)
>> See Related: Repentance Defined
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CrossWay Church is a modern expression of the biblical community of faith, hope and love serving the cities of Debary, Orange City, Deltona, Deland, Sanford and the surrounding central Florida area. Our passion is for the glory and fame of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to effectively engage our contemporary culture with his timeless gospel. Our mission is to help people find and follow hard after him. Visit us on the web at crosswayflorida.com